The Supermoon strikes back again next 14 December 2016

Last 14 November we admired the biggest full Moon from 1948 to 2034, called Supermoon. But in 2016 we have three of them in a row and next 14 December the last full Moon of the year will be super again.

The Supermoon is setting at dawn, with the Earth’s shadow clearly visible on the bottom – 15 Nov. 2016

As we clearly said earlier this month, the Supermoon is, by itself, nothing epic, but still a great occasion to invite people looking up: for this, is a unique opportunity. You can see a full Moon every month on average, and its bright light is not the one astronomers love more (its glare floods the sky to the point you cannot see faint cosmic objects), but knowing it is a bit closer and apparently bigger (the difference cannot be seen by an untrained eye) than usual, though not offering stunning visible consequences, is enough for many people to look for it. And this is great, as always when the beauty of nature is involved.

Next 14 Dec., we will have the third and last supermoon of the year. So, you have another chance to admire it and image it, possibly including something special from your very own place. It will be less than 1% smaller vs the 14 Nov. supermoon, something impossible to see by naked eye.

Observing the (super) full Moon is simple: your naked eyes are the best choice. You can prefer to look for it rising east at sunset (the Moon, being full, will be on the opposite direction of the sky from the Sun) or setting at sunrise. Those hours are, to the author, the best ones for imaging.

By the way: we will share live, online our real-time observation of the Dec. 2016 Supermoon, to celebrate the first, amazing 10 years of activities of the Virtual Telescope Project. You are invited to join!

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